The present invention relates generally to speech recognition and speech synthesis. More particularly, the invention relates to a system and method for improving the text and audio messaging features of portable mobile communication devices, such as cellular telephones, personal digital assistants, and the like.
Mobile communication devices such as cellular telephones, personal digital assistants and portable radios, are convenient messaging devices that enable both voice and short text messages to be sent and received. However, these devices have several limitations. There is no convenient way to generate e-mail messages longer than a few sentences. This is particularly true with cellular telephones, which have small display screens and only rudimentary text input capability. Moreover, it is not practical to handle large quantities of incoming e-mail because of the limitations on both storage and character display. There is also no good way to archive and index voice messages and conversations.
The present invention overcomes these shortcomings by providing a system that integrates speech recognition and speech synthesis into these mobile communication devices. We call this system a personalized agent because it handles many of the user's speech and text processing tasks as a personal assistant or secretary might do if one were available. In its preferred embodiment, a server-based speech recognition helps generate text messages. The system will also allow a user to browse through e-mail that is stored on a server by generating search requests on the mobile device. The requests can be initiated by voice or by using the keypad or other input device. In another embodiment speech recognition is used to generate a transcription of a voice message or conversation. The transcription may then be used to index the audio file and the audio file itself can be stored on the server, allowing the user to access it at a later date.
For a more complete understanding of the invention, its objects and advantages, refer to the following specification and to the accompanying drawings.